We never expected the reception that we got after winning the World T20 in 2007: Yuvraj Singh

It’s been good 10 years since Indian southpaw Yuvraj Singh did a ‘full monty’ to English bowler Stuart Broad. Yuvraj smashed 6 sixes in an over against Broad and more importantly, India lifted the inaugural T20I World Cup in 2007, by beating arch-rivals Pakistan. Yuvraj recently said that the expectations were low going into the tournament.

India were coming from a disastrous world cup in the Caribbean that year and not many people expected the Indian team led by skipper MS Dhoni, to make such impression. Yuvraj said that even after the victory, neither of them realised the impact it has made.

The iconic bus ride

Recalling the historic bus ride from Mumbai airport to Wankhede stadium, he said, “When we landed in Mumbai, it was raining a little bit and lot of the guys thought that maybe no one will come out and receive us. We never expected the reception that we got in the streets… When we saw the people and the good wishes coming from all over the country did we realise the magnitude of what we had achieved.”

Talking about the two close encounters against Pakistan in that tournament, he said “Both were thrilling — the final and the qualifier (match against Pakistan). I feel the qualifier match was a bit more exciting because it was a tie and it went to a bowl out and the guys who bowled for us were not regular bowlers so it was a more fun game. For me, it was a more fascinating game than the final.”

Giving it back to England

Talking about the iconic match against England, where Yuvraj scored the fastest fifty in the history of T20 cricket, he said “I remember Dhoni going in to bat before me because the team had always talked about wanting a left-right hand combination at the crease. As a result, I came in with three overs to spare so I just thought I have to swing from the very first ball. It was just my day.

Interestingly, England all-rounder Dimitri Masarenhas had hit Yuvraj for 5 sixes during an ODI match, and the Indian all-rounder remembered that. “Me and Flintoff have always had heated arguments on the field. He (Flintoff) bowled two good balls and I was able to hit them for boundaries and he said something and I retaliated… When I next got on the crease I wanted to hit every ball out of the ground and that is what happened. When I was done, I smiled, and waved my bat at (English player) Dimitri Masarenhas. That was because he had hit me for five sixes in an over in a one day game.”  Yuvraj said.